Kathmandu:

Nepal’s Department of Food Technology and Quality Control has banned the import, consumption and sale of two Indian spice brands Everest and MDH as it starts test for levels of ethylene oxide, an official confirmed to ANI.

Nepal has banned these two spice brands after the news about high levels of ethylene oxide traces in the products.

“Everest and MDH brand spices which are being imported in Nepal have been banned from import. This comes after the news about traces of harmful chemicals in the spices, ban on import was imposed a week earlier and we also have banned the sales of it in the market,” Mohan Krishna Maharjan, spokesperson of Nepal’s Department of Food Technology and Quality Control told ANI over the phone.

“Tests are underway for the chemicals in the spices of these two particular brands. The ban will remain in place until the final report comes up. Hong Kong and Singapore already have banned it, this move comes following their move,” Maharjan added in a telephone conversation with ANI.

Indian Government sources told ANI that the use of EtO is allowed in different countries from 0.73 per cent to up to 7 per cent.

Government sources said a standard should be devised for the use of EtO by different countries. Also, the spices banned in these countries are less than one per cent of India’s total spice exports.

Meanwhile, the Spice Board of India has taken steps to ensure the safety and quality of Indian spice exports to these regions.

The board has implemented the recommendations of the Techno-Scientific Committee, which conducted the root cause analysis, inspected processing facilities, and collected samples for testing in accredited labs.

The Spice Board of India also organized a stakeholder consultation involving over 130 exporters and associations, such as the All India Spices Exporters Forum and the Indian Spice and Foodstuff Exporters’ Association.

The board has also issued the guidelines for the EtO treatment to all exporters. The spice board has taken these steps to prevent EtO contamination in spices exported from India.

In April, the Hong Kong food safety watchdog banned four spice products of Indian brands MDH and Everest after they found they contained cancer-causing chemicals, ethylene oxide.

The Centre for Food Safety of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region announced on April 5 that routine surveillance programmes had uncovered the presence of ethylene oxide in three spices from MDH Group, Sambhar Masala Powder, and Curry Powder.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

India has taken several steps to prevent EtO (ethylene oxide), a carcinogenic chemical, contamination in spices exported from India, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

The steps were taken following the reports on recall of products from two Indian spice brands in Singapore and Hong Kong due to presence of EtO residue in certain spices of Indian brands MDH and Everest.

“The Spices Board has taken steps to ensure the safety and quality of Indian spice exports to these regions,” Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry Amardeep Singh Bhatia told reporters here.

The board has made it mandatory to test such consignments destined to these two countries.

A techno-scientific committee has also conducted a root cause analysis, inspected processing facilities, and collected samples for testing in accredited labs.

“In response to the committee’s recommendations, mandatory sampling and testing for EtO residues has been implemented for all spice shipments to Singapore and Hong Kong starting May 7, 2024,” he said, adding that guidelines for EtO treatment have also been reiterated to all exporters.

He added that India has also taken up with the CODEX committee for setting up limits for EtO usage as different countries has different limits.

Also, there is no standard for EtO testing. India has proposed for that.

To develop and expand worldwide standards for spices and culinary herbs, and to consult with other international organisations in the standards development process, CCSCH (Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs) was formed in 2013 with support of over 100 countries.

In food products, there are a certain degree of failure of samples that happen and India’s sample failure is less than 1 per cent.

The Spices Board has come out with comprehensive guidelines for exporters to prevent ethylene oxide contamination in the products shipped from India amid quality concerns being flagged by certain countries on these goods.

In 2023-24, India’s spice exports totalled USD 4.25 billion, accounting for a 12 per cent share of the global spice exports.

The major spices exported from India included chilli powder, which topped the list with USD 1.3 billion in exports, followed by cumin at USD 550 million, turmeric at USD 220 million, cardamom at USD 130 million, mixed spices at USD 110 million, and spice oils and oleoresins at USD 1 billion.

Other notable exports were asafoetida, saffron, anise, nutmeg, mace, clove, and cinnamon.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

For decades, India’s spice makers MDH and Everest have been ubiquitous in kitchens around the world with their products being essential ingredients in chicken and fish curries and vegetable dishes.

A Hong Kong sales ban on some of their products after a cancer-causing pesticide was found has triggered a wave of scrutiny, including in the United States, the Maldives, India and Australia. Both brands say their products are safe.

Here are some facts and background on the two brands:

“Mahashian Di Hatti”, Popularly Known As MDH

* New Delhi-based MDH started in 1919 and is a family-run business.

* It rose to popularity with ads and packaging featuring its founder Dharampal Gulati who sported a handlebar moustache and a turban. Gulati, often dubbed as India’s “Spice King”, died in 2020.

* MDH’s website says it has 62 products. It deals in grounded spices, as well as spice blends which were created after “decades of research”.

* MDH has five factories and its products are sold in India and markets such as Australia, the United States, Europe, Canada and the United Kingdom through a network of more than 400,000 retail dealers.

* MDH’s revenue for 2022-2023 stood at $260 million.

Everest

* Everest Food Products started in 1967 with three products. Its founder Vadilal Bhai Shah started his business from a small 200 square feet spice shop.

* With 52 products, Everest today has global presence in around 80 countries, including in North America, Europe, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific and Africa.

* Some 20 million households use Everest products every day and 3.7 billion packs of its products are sold each year, according to its website. Around 620,000 outlets sell Everest products in 1,000 small towns and cities of India.

* India’s Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan are Everest brand ambassadors, appearing together in many TV commercials to promote its products, especially those to make the famous rice dish, biryani.

* Everest’s net sales for 2022-23 stood at $365 million.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

MDH, a leading spice brand, on Saturday assured consumers that its products are 100 per cent safe and rejected the allegations of the presence of certain pesticides in some products by Hong Kong and Singapore food regulators.

Earlier this month, Hong Kong’s Center for Food Safety (CFS) said that samples of several kinds of pre-packaged spice-mix products of two Indian brands MDH and Everest were found to contain a pesticide ethylene oxide.

The CFS asked consumers not to buy and traders not to sell MDH’s Madras Curry Powder (spice blend for Madras curry), Everest Fish Curry Masala, MDH Sambhar Masala Mixed Masala Powder, and MDH Curry Powder Mixed Masala Powder.

In a statement, MDH said it has not received any communications from Hong Kong and Singapore food safety regulators.

In reference to the alleged presence of ETO (ethylene oxide) in some of its products, MDH said that “these claims are untrue and lack any substantiating evidence”.

“Additionally, we would like to assert that MDH has not received any communication from regulatory authorities of Singapore or Hong Kong.” MDH stated that the Spice Board of India and food regulator FSSAI have not received any communication or test reports from Hong Kong or Singapore authorities regarding this matter.

“This reinforces the fact that the allegations against MDH are baseless, unsubstantiated, and not backed by any concrete evidence,” the statement said.

“MDH reassures its buyers and customers about the safety and quality of all its products.

“We reassure our buyers and consumers that we do not use Ethylene Oxide (ETO) at any stage of storing, processing, or packing our spices,” the statement said.

The company also said it abides by health and safety standards, both domestically and internationally.

“MDH tagline, ‘Asli Masale Sach Sach, MDH MDH’ and ‘Real Spices of India’ reflect our genuine commitment to providing authentic, high-quality spices to customers,” the company said.

After Hong Kong’s directive, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) also ordered a recall of imported ‘Everest Fish Curry Masala’.

India is the world’s largest producer, consumer, and exporter of spices.

In 2022-23, the country exported spices worth nearly Rs 32,000 crore. Chilli, cumin, spice oil and oleoresins, turmeric, curry powder and cardamom are major spices exported. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Image used for representative purpose only.
| Photo Credit: X/@SpicesMdh

India is inspecting facilities of spice makers MDH and Everest for compliance with quality standards after sales of some of their products were halted in Hong Kong and Singapore for allegedly containing high levels of a cancer-causing pesticide.

India’s spices export regulator said it had sought data on MDH and Everest exports from relevant authorities in both countries and was working with the companies to find the “root cause” of the issue and propose corrective measures if needed.

MDH and Everest did not immediately respond to queries about the Spices Board’s statement.

Hong Kong this month suspended sales of three MDH spice blends and an Everest spice mix for fish curries. Singapore has also ordered a recall of the Everest spice mix and advised against its consumption.

The companies’ products are hugely popular in India and are exported to countries in Europe, Asia and North America.

The Spices Board added it was starting mandatory testing for ethylene oxide – the pesticide in question – in spice consignments to Singapore and Hong Kong, while shipments to other countries would also be strictly monitored for the contaminant.